eCPM (Effective Cost Per Mille)

eCPM (effective cost per milleGlossaryCost Per Mille (CPM)The price an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions, regardless of whether those impressions drive clicks or installs. "Mille" = Latin for 1,000.) is the revenue a publisher actually earns per 1,000 ad impressions. It's the publisher-side counterpart to CPM (which is the buyer-side inventory price). For mobile apps that monetize via ads, eCPM is the revenue-per-impressionGlossaryAd ImpressionA single instance of an ad being served to a user — the atomic unit of ad inventory. What counts as "served" vs "viewable" vs "verified" matters enormously for pricing. ceiling — the single number every ad-monetization optimization works to lift.

eCPM by format (rough 2026 anchors, US iOS):

• Rewarded videoGlossaryRewarded VideoA video ad format that users opt-into voluntarily in exchange for an in-app reward (currency, lives, extra content). The highest-eCPM mobile ad format because the us...: $10-25 — highest because users opt-in for in-app rewards.
• InterstitialGlossaryInterstitial AdA full-screen ad format shown between app sessions, level transitions, or natural break points. Forced-view (unlike rewarded video), so timing and frequency are crit... video: $5-15.
• Native ads: $2-8.
• BannerGlossaryBanner AdA small persistent ad shown at the top or bottom of the app screen — the lowest-attention and lowest-eCPM mobile ad format, but high in impression volume.: $0.50-2.

eCPM by geo (same format, casual game inventory):

• US iOS: $10-25 rewarded video.
• Western Europe iOS: $5-12.
• Brazil Android: $1-3.
• India Android: $0.30-1.00.

Format × geo combinations stack — a US iOS rewarded video eCPM of $20 vs an India Android banner of $0.40 is a 50× spread on the same business.

Three levers that move eCPM

1. 01Add more bidders to your mediation stack. Header-bidding-style real-time waterfalls (AppLovin MAX, IronSource LevelPlay, Google Admob bidding) generally beat fixed-priority waterfalls because more bidders compete for each impression.
2. 02Tune waterfall order and floor prices. Floors that are too low let cheap inventory clear; floors too high mean unfilled impressions. Test floor prices in 10-15% increments.
3. 03Improve inventory quality. Premium ad slots (post-level-completion, app-launch interstitial after onboardingGlossaryOnboardingThe first-time user experience that guides new installs from app launch to the "aha moment" — where they understand the product's value and become more likely to ret...) command higher eCPMs than mid-sessionGlossaryApp SessionA single period of continuous user activity in an app, from open to close (or background past an inactivity timeout) — the atomic unit on which most engagement metri... random impressions.

Don't confuse eCPM with revenue per user. A high eCPM with low impression volume can produce less revenue than a moderate eCPM with high volume. Optimize the product of (eCPM × impressions per user) — what most publishers call ARPDAUGlossaryARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User)Total revenue in a period divided by the average daily active users in that period — the per-day-per-active-user revenue rate. from ads — not eCPM alone.